The Tampon Triumph
by JennysInTARDIS
Summary: Tentoo buys Rose tampons for the first time and honestly has no idea what he's doing. It's just all so confusing. What should he buy, what should he avoid? And then it occurs to him. There is a very simple solution to this predicament...


The Doctor stood in the middle of the aisle just _staring_

"What in the name of Rassilon," he whispered to himself.

His hands were on his hips, head tilted back so he could see right at the very top of the shelves. His eyebrows were knit together, eyes crinkled in the corners slightly where he had them squinted in concentration. _How in the bloody hell did these human women cope?_ he thought to himself. The Doctor hadn't imagined thinking of Rose with more awe and amazement were possible, as it turned out he was wrong. After this he felt he should give her medal. How did she _know_? Was it trial and error? Certainly she couldn't have tried _all_ these different brands of tampons and sanitary towels…

A young girl, no older than sixteen stood awkwardly beside him.

"Excuse me, sir?" she spoke, embarrassed.

"Hmm?" the Doctor turned to her, eyebrows raised.

"Do you mind if I?.." she trailed off.

"Oh!" the Doctor realised he was blocking her way and moved to one side.

He watched the girl grab her sanitary products and quickly shuffle away. Should he get what she had gotten? Then again she was quite young. Would Rose need something bigger? What if he got her something on the bigger side and she was offended? But what if it was too small and she thought he was an idiot? Why was this domestic human life so damn hard? The half-Time-Lord had defeated Dalek's and yet here he was, completely stumped by tampons.

The Doctor reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. He contemplated calling Rose and just asking, however he changed his mind, not wanting to show the love of his life how much of a failure he was. Perhaps Jackie would know. The Doctor shuddered. Absolutely not. He placed his phone back in the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket before he continued to stare at the shelves upon shelves of feminine hygiene products.

The Doctor looked around and saw a clock on the far wall. He had been here for twenty-five minutes.

"Sod it!" he mumbled before walking outside.

The Doctor returned, this time with a trolley instead of a small basket. As he walked up the aisle he held his arm out, swiping box after box from the shelves and into his cart. Now he couldn't possibly be wrong. A smug smirk danced over his features. Perhaps Rose would like his bulk-buying. It's less hassle this way, not having to run out every month.

The sound of the till beeping rang through the Doctor's ears. Waiting in line was _so_ boring and monotonous, yet he'd do it everyday for the rest of his life if Rose asked him to. Finally his items began to go through the scanner.

"Your daughter's first?" the cashier asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Most single dads panic when their daughter gets her first case of the monthly's. Wondered if that's what happened here, considering." the middle-aged woman chuckled as she put through what must have been the tenth box of tampons.

"Actually it's my girlfriend, Rose. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but I couldn't let her down so I just…"

"Bought that entire section of the store?"

"Pretty much, and quite right too. She shouldn't have to deal with the stress of shopping in her state."

"How long you two been together?"

"Welllll, that's… complicated." The Doctor sighed. "I suppose, officially, it's been two months."

"Well, Rose sounds like a very lucky girl. You tell her I said you're a keeper."

A smile beamed across the Doctor's face. Maybe he wasn't so bad at this human life after all.

Rose was laid on the sofa in a ball, holding her belly as a miserable moan escaped her. She heard the door to the flat open and the Doctor come in. She'd been expecting him home ages ago. Rose could hear him coming in and out, setting bags down in the kitchen after each trip. Confused, (since she'd only asked him to pick up one thing) Rose made her way to the kitchen. On the floor laid bags and bags of tampons and pads.

"I didn't know which ones you liked," she heard the Doctor admit from behind her.

Rose turned to see him scratching awkwardly at his neck, two more bags clutched in his other hand. Rose simply burst into laughter, nearly doubling over at the ridiculousness of it all. When she came up for air the sight of her kitchen, surrounded by her period products just set her off again.

When Rose finally calmed the Doctor was a lot less anxious.

"Did I do alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah… not bad. I mean Jimmy never would've bothered buying me this stuff and Mickey always kicked up a fuss. They thought it was gross. So, thank you, you know, for trying." Rose gave the Doctor a genuine smile as she tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

"I also got you some treats," the Doctor told her, holding up the shopping he still clutched in his hand.

Rose walked over, peered into the bags that he held open for her, looking at their contents. She couldn't help but wonder how she got so lucky.

"I love you." The words fell from Rose's mouth without a thought.

The Doctor sucked in a sharp breath, dropping the bags. Rose looked up to see his eyes wide, but ultimately happy, if still a little shocked.

"You haven't said that since… well, since…"

"I know," Rose Swallowed around the lump in her throat. "But I do. You know that, right?"

"I do now," he grinned.

The Doctor stepped over the bags with ease until he stood no more than two inches from Rose. He placed his hands on her hips, and with a watery smile he touched his forehead to hers.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, we're going to be _so_ happy together."


End file.
